Monday, February 11, 2013

L. Diane Wolfe

Great guest here today! L. Diane Wolfe is here to promote her latest book HOW TO PUBLISH & PROMOTE YOUR BOOK NOW. I've 'known' Diane for a few years now - we met shortly after I started blogging. In fact, Diane was my very first guest poster a while back. It's a pleasure to have her here again today!

***

Book Returns

Book returns are like a dirty secret. Authors and publishers dread them. Readers have no idea of the extent. However, book returns have been with us for over eighty years.

The ability of bookstores to return books began during the Depression. Desperate for book orders, publishers started promising stores that they could return books that didn’t sell. Bookstores struggling to survive no longer had to worry about being stuck with unsold merchandise and took advantage of the offer.

The Depression ended. Unfortunately, the return policy continued.

Most publishers have a 90-day window for returns. This means the store has to return books that didn’t sell within those three months or pay for them. To avoid this, stores will return books just before the 90-day grace period ends, and regardless of the condition of said books, the publisher or wholesaler/distributor has to give the store credit. Ironically, when a store does this, they will immediately place an order for the very same books since they no longer have any in stock. Now they have another 90 days to keep the merchandise on their shelves without making payment.

In 2004, the Association of American Publishers estimated returns for hard covers to be 31%. Paperbacks were at 18%. When one out of three hard backs and one of five paperbacks are returned, you can understand why publishers hate returns! Authors hate them, too. A returned book is credited against their royalties. And with those kinds of numbers, it’s stunning any publisher makes money.

The primary source of returns comes from physical bookstores and the wholesalers/distributors that deal with these stores. On occasion, library distributors return books as well. However, book clubs, retail sites, direct library sales, and other outlets don’t return books.

As bookstores have dwindled, so has the problem of returns. However, there is now a new source of returns.

E-book returns are not an issue for most. The majority of E-book sellers allow no returns, such as Apple’s iTunes store. Once you’ve downloaded it, the book is yours. A few have the fifteen-minute ‘buyer’s remorse,’ but that’s it.

Except Amazon.

Amazon allows digital returns up to seven days later. Even though a buyer could easily read a book in less than a week and return it, Amazon still gives that person a refund. Who returns a book that was only $3? Who knows?

But, that’s certainly an improvement over print returns.

Have you ever returned a book or had yours returned?

L. Diane Wolfe

Professional Speaker & Author

Known as “Spunk On A Stick,” Wolfe is a member of the National Speakers Association and the author of numerous books. Her latest title, “How to Publish and Promote Your Book Now,” covers her publishing seminars in depth and provides an overview of the entire process from idea to market. “Overcoming Obstacles With SPUNK! The Keys to Leadership & Goal-Setting”, ties her goal-setting and leadership seminars together into one complete, enthusiastic package. Her YA series, The Circle of Friends, features morally grounded, positive stories. Wolfe travels extensively for media interviews and speaking engagements, maintains a dozen websites & blogs, and assists writers through her author services.

Have you always dreamed of publishing a book but didn’t know where to begin? This book walks you through the steps of identifying markets, budgeting, building an online presence, and generating publicity. Get the whole story on:

·Traditional publishing

·Self-publishing

·Print and e-book setup, formatting, and distribution

·Finding your target audience

·Generating reviews and media interest

·Networking and developing an online presence

·Promotional materials and appearances

Uncover your ideal publishing path and numerous marketing options before you begin. Writing is your dream. Give it the best chance for success!

“She gives an unbiased take on the advantages and disadvantages of traditional publishing and self-publishing and publishing paths that combine the two… It's the perfect book for those who want an overview to begin the decision-making process.”

51 comments:

Very interesting and educational post, ladies. I had no idea you could return ebooks! That is an outrage. How ridiculous is that.

I know about book store returns, but I didn't know they played the game for months before payment or final return. Since I have nothing published yet these issues haven't affected me, BUT it's something that every writer should know!

I didn't know any of this! I've never returned a book, even those I didn't like or never read. I'll donate them to the library or give them away. It would never occur to me to return them and Amazon should not do that. As you say, a lot of books are easy to read in seven days.

I didn't know about book returns - wow. That's kind of awful, although I can understand the necessity of it (especially during depressions/recessions). I don't like the idea of a seven day return policy either. Yikes. Thanks for the knowledge! :)

I guess books are a risky business for all parties. One thing about the ebooks is that I guess I won't be finding those at Dollar Tree stores. I guess the books they sell there must be returns from other stores. I've found some pretty good deals there.

Lee Have you ever compiled a life soundtrack?Wrote By RoteAn A to Z Co-host blog

Yikes, this is such an interesting post! I wasn't aware of the extent of this! And I didn't even realize that about Amazon! Wow. Thanks for posting this!congrats on another book, Diane! I hope your sales soar.

This was an interesting but also disturbing post! I had no idea that this was such an issue, I guess I never thought about it. I also never dreamed that Amazon allows returns of ebooks like this, that seems crazy to me. Very informative post, thanks to you both!

I've never returned a book, but I see them once in awhile on my Amazon reports. What troll returns a $1 book? I can see if they made a downloading mistake. Therefore, returns should only be allowed for 24 hours.

It's weird because they don't allow returns of downloaded music or movies.

I've never returned a book. I usually have them sitting on my shelves for a long time and if I decide I don't want to read them, I donate to a library or put them into my classroom. It's good to know about the ebook returns, but I rarely start a book within days.

Hi Jemi - I followed the link from Diane's blog. It's nice to meet you.

Diane - no, I have never returned a book. Not even a book I didn't like. It wouldn't even occur to me. Granted, I can only think of two books I own that I don't like, but even those are still on my shelves.

What a fascinating post! I can't recall ever returning a book. I had no idea about the different return policies. I can't believe an ebook can be returned, as it would be very easy to read and return the book in 7 days. Wow! I wonder how many ebooks get returned to Amazon.